Sunday, March 24, 2013

Working - A Horrible Nightmare?

A little while back there was a cheating scandal at Harvard. Some students decided they couldn't handle the challenge of a take home test and ended up cheating. Just recently, I saw the punishment that was handed down. Here it is. The punishment was nothing, a nastygram, or 6 months working in the real world.

Amazing! Most people may laugh. To me, that wasn't funny at all. I find it ridiculous that the punishment is to work. That really shows how they see the rest of us. So am I to believe that my life is worthless? Working is a continual punishment? The majority of people will need to work 30 years. Apparently, Harvard feels the punishment of 6 months of work fits the crime. Any cheating should mean either failing the class or expulsion as stipulated by the college. These are grown adults that should have known better. The biggest thing I hate about applying for a job is seeing a requirement for a college degree. Just so you know a little about me. I have degrees in Electrical Engineering and Finance from Penn State University. I currently work as a Systems Analyst. My job can be done by people without a degree. All it would take is a little bit of training for the right person. Why should a person be denied a job because of a piece of paper? I have seen plenty of people hired that didn't deserve the job. They weren't hungry enough for the opportunity. In a way, they felt they deserved it somehow.

I watched a show on Netflix called The Colony. This was a reality show that put strangers together with different skill sets after a world changing disaster. On the show was a handyman named Mike Raines. He didn't have a degree. He also said he couldn't read either but what he did have was some imagination and experience. He was able to fabricate many things over the course of the show. He definitely felt like he had to prove himself to all the other people that were on the show. America was built on hard work and a dream. For the majority of the
people going to Harvard, I can probably say they didn't build the roads
or bridges that lead to the campus. The people that whine about the 1%
probably go there. For me, I could careless about how rich or poor you
are. All I care about is the willingness to work for what you want.
These kids were given an opportunity that few people will ever have.
They couldn't handle it. Instead of using this as a life-learning
opportunity, the college hands them a 6 month joke.

In many ways, I was glad I grew up poor. I lived in a mobile home as a kid. I worked right along side my parents, brother, sister, and grandma and I got to see first hand the American Dream. We worked hard and I will cherish those memories forever. The American Dream exists but is slowly fading away. We should be proud of the work we do and not ashamed of it. We shouldn't be teaching kids that work is a punishment.